Discovered by the French during their reign in Vietnam in the late nineteenth century and the nineteen hundreds, this hill located 30 km out of center Da Nang City, Vietnam, was the French’s favorite vacation spot in central Vietnam, besides Sa Pa in the North and Da Lat in the South. After the colonization period, the natural thing for Vietnamese to do was to destroy this beautiful resort, in an effort to eradicate all traces of a bloody, gloomy time. But recently, Ba Na Hills was rediscovered, and restored to its former glory, becoming one of the most visited places in Vietnam with thousands of visitors riding the cable car to heaven each day.
Usually, people take organized day trips from Da Nang City to Ba Na Hills, leaving the city around 9 in the morning and arriving back at the city around 5-6 in the afternoon, although it’s advertised that to fully understand and appreciate the beauty of Ba Na Hills, you should stay there for at least 24 hours because there are four seasons in Ba Na a day – spring in the morning, summer at noon, fall in the afternoon, and winter in the evening. But to stay there in the evening, you have to rent one room in one of those castle hotels, which I guess should be quite pricey.
Even if you don’t stay a night there, Ba Na Hills still have a lot to offer. Although it’s mostly advertised for the cable car ride to the top of the hills, the ride in Guinness World Record as the longest single cable car ride on earth, I care about what Ba Na Hills itself has.
Of course my most favorite is the French village, with this square that could totally pass for a spot in Paris.
This square is the place where you can find the restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops in Ba Na Hills, all designed in the European Gothic architecture.
And there’s the Garden of Love (Le Jardin d’Amour) where colorful flowers blossom all year round.
The cool De Bay wine cellars and tunnel – the only remnants from centuries ago. Vietnamese really know what to preserve, don’t we?
And yes, of course, games ! Fun for kids, and couples, and exciting adults. 🙂 Sorry, no pictures, I slept when others went to ride the Alpine Coaster or pose next to Angelina Jolie in Madame Tussaud.
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